When a new genre of American music, called funk, emerged during the 1960s, not many Tar Heels realized the considerable contribution of eastern North Carolina musicians to the new style.
Musical genius Nathaniel “Nat” Jones of Kinston and other African American musical pioneers from eastern counties helped to create funk when they joined up with James Brown in 1964, transforming Brown into an icon known worldwide as the “Godfather of Funk Music.”
Maceo Parker and James Brown during a 1985 performance.
The saxophone in the photograph is on view in the exhibit case Hey America!
Image credit: Doug Grimes
The North Carolina Museum of History has a new exhibit case, titled “Hey America!: Eastern North Carolina and the Birth of Funk”, which features items associated with Brown and other Tar Heel musicians who worked with him. On view through Sunday, February 28, 2016, admission is free.
Complimenting the exhibit, the museum announced other events, concluding Saturday, August 15, when Tyrone Jefferson, who served several stints as music director for Brown (1979-2006) will lead a master class from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. and a public performance from 6 -7:30 p.m. (Register for the master class by e-mail to kate.betka@ncdcr.gov or by phone at 919-807-7984).
Those attending are encouraged to “Come early, bring your own instrument, and take part in a master class with Jefferson to develop your own funk music skills.” Cost is $5 plus tax ($4 for museum members). High school and college students are free with ID.
The addition of North Carolinians to James Brown’s bands began in 1962. When the legendary singer and dancer needed a drummer, he hired Lathan, of Wilson. Two years later, Brown asked Jones, a graduate of N.C. College for Negroes (now N.C. Central University), to join as songwriter and music director. In turn, Jones hired Kinston musicians Maceo Parker, Melvin Parker, Levi Rasbury, and Dick Knight.
Between 1964 and 1967, Jones led the group and wrote many of the singer’s hit records. The director and musicians developed the rhythmic new form of music that combined elements of bebop jazz, soul music, and rhythm and blues. The orchestra, in combination with a performance by Brown, “brought the funk.”
“The funk genre diverted Americans from the complex racial issues of the 1960s and brought them together,” said Earl Ijames, Exhibit Curator. “Brown’s 1964 album ‘Grits & Soul’ embodied the spirit of the Civil Rights Act and gave African Americans and whites the push to integrate willfully by dancing.”
Hey America! was inspired, in part, by African American Music Trails of Eastern North Carolina, a guidebook produced by the N.C. Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources. Access www.AfricanAmericanMusicNC.com for more information.